Introduction to NAD+

NAD+ is an acronym for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (quite a mouthful). It is a cofactor in the body, used by multiple enzymes and processes, including energy production and DNA repair. 

The amount of NAD+ in cells has been shown to decline with age in multiple organisms. Its involvement in DNA repair is particularly interesting, because DNA damage accumulates with age, and it appears that lower NAD+ in advanced age may not be enough to enable necessary DNA repair. 

Fortunately, cellular NAD+ levels can be increased by simple oral supplementation with its precursors, though restoring NAD+ to youthful levels may require very large doses, or a different route of administration, such as intravenous.

I'm currently (May 2018) supplementing with 100 mg of an NAD+ precursor, nicotinamide riboside from Life Extension, twice per day.

Is anyone else supplementing with NAD+? Have you noticed any effects? I haven't noticed anything myself, but I'm relatively young (35), and plan to keep supplementing with it, while assuming it's likely doing me some good (and probably no harm). 

I'm also interested in hearing the experiences of anyone who has tried intravenous NAD+, or is part of an NAD+ study. Some people have reported lower blood pressure, better sleep, and increased mental acuity. 

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    • Rawin
    • Rawin
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Is this treatment available, could you provide clinic locatons as nd estimated cost

    Im 60 yrs have parkinson disease 

     

    I appreciate any informatiin

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      • Maximus Peto
      • Researcher, website & forum admin
      • Maximus
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Rawin Hi Rawin. We have NAD+ clinic information on this page: https://www.rescueelders.org/latest-update/

      If you scroll down to the bottom, you will see a list of medical clinics performing NAD+ infusions. 

      I am not sure about the cost of each one. I recommend you call them and inquire about their protocols and pricing. 

      Like 2
      • Rawin
      • Rawin
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Maximus 

      Thank you for the information 

      Like 1
      • Maximus Peto
      • Researcher, website & forum admin
      • Maximus
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Rawin You're welcome.

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    • Danmoderator
    • skipping my funeral
    • dantheman
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Thoughts on whether they're useful for a youthful 51 year old? I wonder if supplementing would be close enough. 

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      • Maximus Peto
      • Researcher, website & forum admin
      • Maximus
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      danman There is evidence that it could be useful, even for someone in their 30's. But it is still being tested for its effects, which is why we are urging financial support for, and participation in, studies. 

      Personally, I supplement with about 1 gram/day of NAD+ precursors, but have never had the infusions. I'm 36. And I think NAD+ is likely to have enhanced my health, including increased energy level and improved (longer, deeper) sleep. 

      Like 1
      • Danmoderator
      • skipping my funeral
      • dantheman
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Maximus Any thoughts on how necessary NAD+ is if you're already supplementing with ALA/ALC? In another thread I wrote about Bruce Ames research on the role of ALA/ALC supplementation in restoring mitochondrial function. Which goes something like NADH/NAD+->CoQ->ADP etc. The cycle is shown at this point

       

      in one of his lectures on the subject. 

      Like 1
      • Maximus Peto
      • Researcher, website & forum admin
      • Maximus
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      danman Hi Dan. I'm not sure on this point. Perhaps the best way to assess whether you want more NAD+ is to have your NAD+ level tested, which is not a widely-available test.

      And that's an important detail you looked into about NADH/NAD+ in mitochondrial function. However, NAD+ is essentially "used up" in some important reactions in the body outside of mitochondrial function, such as DNA repair. So even if mitochondria are functioning well, it may be that there isn't enough NAD+ available in one's body to do all the necessary DNA repair. In that case, more NAD+ could be beneficial. 

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      • Danmoderator
      • skipping my funeral
      • dantheman
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Maximus ideally Life Extension (Bill’s supplement company) would offer it with their other tests, perhaps if anybody knows Bill they could mention it.

       

      Anyhow yes I agree testing is needed. I found a local place that will do NAD infusions but I don’t know the dose or necessity. FWIW I’ve started supplementing with 200mg but don’t feel anything, the only supplements I do notice anecdotally are Ubiquinol, ALA/ALC and phosphitydlcholine (strong correlation FWIW)

      Like 1
      • Maximus Peto
      • Researcher, website & forum admin
      • Maximus
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      danman That's a good idea to have Life Extension offer it with their other tests. However, the company Life Extension partners with that actually does the tests--LabCorp--does not test for NAD+ levels. It's generally not used to help diagnose a medical condition, so its levels are not routinely checked by medical practitioners. Therefore, LabCorp does not offer it, unfortunately. 

      Personally, it took several months of 200 mg/day of nicotinamide riboside for me to notice the benefits, if there were any. They were subtle, if present, but I'm definitely sleeping better (longer, with more dreaming) since taking it regularly. 

      Like 2
    • Danmoderator
    • skipping my funeral
    • dantheman
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Well that's interesting ... I've been taking 200mg NAD+ (from lifeextension.com) for about a week, after about three days I noticed a significant change in my sleep. Now I'm very aware of my sleep patterns, for work I used to do a lot of worldwide travel which really messed up my clock, ever since I've had to work hard to get a good night sleep (e.g. I keep to a schedule religiously, prepare the few hours before by getting off screens and work, all the lights in the house go reddish, etc). Anyhow I've not been a significant dreamer, though it was better when younger. Now I'm dreaming deeply (indicating REM sleep), get back to sleep easily when I wake and overall am extremely rested during the day. 

     

    This is anecdotal of course, normally I'd attempt some kind of rigor at least by going on/off periodically to check, but the results are so noticeable I have no doubt it's a real effect. If for nothing else that's worth the price of admission (about 90 cents/day), now to talk to my local drip clinic about getting an IV. 

     

    Otherwise I'm not noticing any effect on energy levels, other than they are somewhat lower. I think this is due to getting better rest (not jittery from not getting quite enough sleep at night). 

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    • Viperml
    • Viperml
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Hello everyone,

    I have been following NR, NMN which lead to NAD.

    I have been following here on this site.

    https://www.longecity.org/forum/forum/489-nad/

    There are several people taking NR and NMN.

    It seems that people are taking NMN taking  sublingual are having the best results.

    Most of then are getting NMN from here https://alivebynature.com/product-category/nmn/

    Maybe someone can ask Lifeextension to add NMN to their products.

    I am taking NR directly from Chromadex and I have my best results taking it in the morning on an empty stomach. I may switch over to NMN though.

    Like 1
      • Dennis
      • Retired USAF pilot, biochemist.
      • Dennis
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Viperml Great link! Thanks! Very good results (excellent actually) with NMN (although doses were fairly high?), contrary to the negative quote above.

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    • Danmoderator
    • skipping my funeral
    • dantheman
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Too many posts to read, so I don't know what 'having the best results' means. Unless you measure it that's meaningless, in this case it would be various markers for aging. I think DNA methylation is one of the main ones they use.  I did see this post in there (which doesn't mean much but hey)

     

    NMN is definitely not converted to NR in the intestines. It is mostly absorbed intact. It gets converted to NR outside cells. But the conversion rate is very small. So a majority of NMN is washed out in the urine. To get the same NAD+ increase as from 250mg NR, you will need 5,000mg NMN. The clinical results from NR is so much better than NAM means that NR is not cleaved either in the intestines. 

    Personally this is all early stage, I don't think it's useful for us to play armchair researcher and try to figure out the optimal approach. Also there are issues of availability, cost and ease of consumption. So for me I trust LifeExtension as having done their homework and get it from there (NR - Nicotinamine Riboside) at their recommended dose. 

    Like 3
    • jazzman
    • jazzman
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I am over 50, is it correct to infer that NAD supplementation won't help without first doing NAD infusions? 

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      • Danmoderator
      • skipping my funeral
      • dantheman
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      jazzman I think Bill mentioned that 55 and above might not be able to restore youthful levels with oral supplementation. I'm 52 and am doing a six day course of NAD patches, plus oral supplementation. 

      Like 1
    • jpurc
    • jpurc
    • 4 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Hi Maximus,  I am just starting to supplement with NAD+ and have bought a 30 day supply of patches and believe it or not I actually bought them from Amazon in the UK!.  The patches supply 1000mg of NAD+ so I hope that is the right amount for my age which is 90.  Since Aug. 2018 I have been taking Rapamycin and Metformin and in March 2019 I took my first 2 doses of Dasatinib and Quercetin. I can't say I have noticed any improvement in my health since taking any of these medications, but I have watched Bill's video where he describes health as a house where the first floor must be in good health before you start on the second floor. I have a few health issues like arthritis and high cholesterol but I am taking medication for cholesterol so that should be under control.  I have read and I am sure correctly that taking NAD+ helps to put that 'first floor' in good order so that all the other medications will become beneficial. I will keep you updated on how I feel after using the NAD+ patches.  Jean Purcell

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    • Bill M
    • Bill_M
    • 4 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Max....no comments in 5 months.  So is NAD BAD or just another snake oil....

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    • Karl
    • Karl.1
    • 4 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    an Interesting study in Humans that seems to show NAD+ does not decline with age, and questions whether NR supplements do much.  Especially interesting since one of the investigators works for Chromadex.

     

    https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/680462v1.full

    Like
  • https://youtu.be/n9SQjWxWMkE
     

    second Half of this video has great discussion on NAD 

    top takeaways 

    only have 10% of normal levels by 70 and nearly none by 80

    alcohol and disease deplete levels quite a bit

    oral supplements like Elysiums probably have too little to help anyone over 60-you’d have to spend $50/week

    Like 1
    •  also 

      questions about whether a senolytics treatment beforehand will make NAD more effective 

      James Clement has a mass spectrometer that can measure NAD levels so will soon know how effective various treatments are

      Like 1
  • I have TRU Niagen (NR in the form nicotinamide riboside chloride). The bottle says to take 2 pills/day at 150mg each (300 mg total/day). Does anyone know of a study that could be referenced that determines the optimum NR dosage?

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    • Mary Lee
    • Product Manager
    • Mary_Lee
    • 3 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Thank you for the information. For NAD+, Well, keep an eye one this to see if there is anything useful we can do.

    I do consider us a resource. https://www.stanfordchem.com/nicotinamide-riboside.html

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    • Van
    • Van
    • 1 yr ago
    • Reported - view

    I have had another go at taking N+R to increase my NAD levels.  Tried all the precussors without luck in previous years.  A little background.  I am almost 76 yo. 168 lbs, 71", good health, blood pressure and glucose under control, lift weights, and walk daily.  Have low stamina and decreased energy.  Nicotinamide and RIbose powder are my supplements.  I know many studies have concluded that NAD precussors cannot get into the cell because of filteration by liver.  I decided to do an experiment with N+R.  I will take 1 gram of each daily (2 grams total) and see if the higher dose has an effect on my energy levels.  I am pleased to say after 1 month, that I can lift more weight and walk further than previously.  I believe that at this higher dose, enough of the precussor gets past the liver to the cell where NAD is produced.  All these other NAD precussor companies  (NR, NMN, etc.) were selling there products for a lot of money and very low dosages.  If they sold higher doses, that would have been too expensive for most people.  

    This is a low cost way to experiment with yourself.  So, if past 60 yo, why not see how you do.  This along with Rapamycin are the 2 Holy Grails for ageing.  Rapamycin extends life, but that is not enough without enough energy to enjoy the extra years.

    Like 1
    • Van     Just curious, were you taking the N+R as a stand alone treatment or was it part of the "Manipulating Mitocondrial Dynamics" protocol? 

      You clearly have increased strength & endurance when exercising, but do you also notice increased energy levels on a day to day  basis?

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